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The Sheriff
is an AI Lord encountered in Stronghold Crusader and Extreme. Character The character is based on the Sheriff of Nottingham in the Robin Hood lore. His nicknames, however, suggest he also represents in minor role Sheriffs of other cities in England. In Stronghold Crusader, The Sheriff emulates his legendary counterpart quite well. He will heavily tax his peasants and treat them with great cruelty. Much like The Snake, The Sheriff is a master of deception and will use almost every dirty trick in the book to achieve victory. Also like the Snake, he speaks slowly and has the same mocking style when he taunts his enemies. However, he is a much more easygoing lord, never showing much concern when under siege, nor any fear of defeat or death. He has a crossbow and a sword which he likes to show off to the player when taunting them.The Sheriff of Nottingham (Wikipedia Article) Castle design and behavior Economy The Sheriff runs a stable economy. He build numerous woodcutters, quarries, iron mines (more of these than any other AI lord) and pitch rigs, as well numerous apple farms, dairy farms and hops farms for his peasants. Being a cruel lord, he will also place plenty of bad things in his castle, such as gallows, gibbets, and burning stakes, to "motivate" his people. To counter the negative effect of these things on his popularity, the Sheriff will build chapels, churches, and inns in abundance to placate his peasants. Offense Much like The Pig, the bulk of The Sheriff's siege forces are made up of macemen and crossbowmen. He does, however, send more crossbowmen in his attacks than the Pig. From time to time, he will also employ a small number of assassins in his army. When he attacks, he has his engineers build catapults and, uniquely for a European lord, fire ballistae, to aid in the offensive. If left undisturbed, the Sheriff tends to build up a lot of gold as the game goes on, enabling his armies to grow noticeably. He doesn't attack that often, however, and usually makes sure there are plenty of troops left in his castle to defend it. In addition, assassins will show up in greater numbers. He also brings slaves if the enemy has a moat (although his macemen can of course dig this up as well). His method of besieging a castle is very strategic and perhaps the most effective of any AI lord apart from Saladin and Lionheart. Attacking only if he has a sizable enough force, he moves his fire ballistae and crossbowmen up close as a distraction while his assassins try to capture the enemy gatehouse, then he sends his fast macemen in before the enemy can react. If this fails, however, he won't hesitate to use his macemen, supported by his catapults, to try and create a breach in the enemy walls. The Sheriff is also fond of harassment in the form of numerous macemen, catapults and fire ballistae. Defense All of The Sheriff's castle designs are large, well organized, and very productive. He begins his castle construction by enclosing his keep, granary, market, and armoury within a square section of thick wall. The Sheriff will then build up to five defense turrets along the wall, manning them with crossbowmen and fire throwers. A large gatehouse is placed between the towers, joining The Sheriff's well fortified keep with what will become the front portion of the castle. Unlike many of the other AI lords, The Sheriff will not make the mistake of placing important structures outside of his castle walls. He will construct a town-like area crowded with hovels, weapon workshops, and just about everything else in front of his enclosed keep and surround it with a thin, low wall. The high walls and towers around The Sheriff's keep will be surrounded by a wide swath of solid pitch which his fire throwers will ignite with very little provocation. His castle design reflects the style of medieval castles in England (where he is from), where a castle was often attached to a small walled town, which contained housing and the service/industrial buildings that could not fit inside the castle. The Sheriff is sometimes seen patrolling his buildings with crossbowmen, fire throwers and assassins. He also deploys some crossbowmen and macemen when his workers are in trouble. Tips Defense An all-round attack means various troops will be needed for defensive purposes. Crossbowmen win here, since all the Sheriff's troops wear leather armor, requiring only 2-4 shots to kill them. Copying the Sheriff may also be worthwhile, since his troops get a morale penalty from bad things, meaning the defender's troops will survive a bit longer. However, bear in mind that assassins may strike anywhere, so keep some guards on the walls and gatehouses. Siege equipment can be disposed of by ballistae/fire ballistae, while all the troops are easy prey for your missile units. The Sheriff may gather his troops very early, so prepare well for his attacks! Offense There are several vulnerable spots in the Sheriff's castle: *The wall surrounding the front, town-like section of the castle is poorly guarded, and is too low to block missiles launched from a fire ballista. The close proximity of The Sheriff's many buildings will cause even the smallest blaze to quickly spread beyond control. This will effectively kill off most of his population, as well as burn his economy to the ground. *The keep's fortified area has numerous troops, but no siege equipment is deployed around it. Use fire ballistae to thin out these ranks, then try to burn the interior. Not many water boys are housed inside, so important buildings will be burnt down in no time and the fire is likely to spread out to the town, making life easier for you. Defense is concentrated here, so resistance from other crossbowmen and fire throwers will be minimal. References Category:Characters